


@carrotlover28

by loveletterstolarry



Category: Louis Tomlinson - Fandom, Medicine - Harry Styles (Song), One Direction (Band), Sweet Creature - Harry Styles (Song)
Genre: 18 - Freeform, BoyxBoy, Football, Harry Styles - Freeform, Highschool AU, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, M/M, happily, harry loves Louis, larry stylinson - Freeform, love is love, love letters to larry, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-23 11:27:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16618082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveletterstolarry/pseuds/loveletterstolarry
Summary: polar-adj- 1.directly opposite in character or tendency- 2.having electrical or magnetic polaritypolarity-n- 1.the property of having poles or being polar"Polar opposites" is a term used to describe things that have nothing in common. But whenever it is used in science, poles need to have another pole, or else they aren't complete, just like how the Earth needs the North and South poles to stay on its axis. So maybe Louis and Harry need each other to stay on their axes, even if they are polar opposites.Or the AU where Harry and Louis meet before they know they do, and once they know, it all goes spiraling down hill. Or does it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so the posting schedule is going to be all over the place, since I don’t have access to a computer all the time. But I will try to post whenever I can. And I know there are a lot of chapters, but that’s because I can’t post all the time, so I also can’t write it in one sitting. The chapters are all relatively short, 1,000 to 2,000 words, so it’ll be like any other doc you’ve read. Please stick with me, it’s a great story, and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Some things you should know;  
> Harry and Niall are 15 and sophomores  
> Zayn is 16 and a junior  
> Louis and Liam are 17 and seniors  
> The story is set in England, but the schooling system is American
> 
> (This work will be a work in progress until it has “completed” in the description)

School. 

  
Every kid's worst nightmare. Well almost everyone's. Harry didn't mind school. He's a straight-A student and is in all honors classes. He liked the smell of the musty carpet, the way the doors creaked when they opened, and the symphony that was created by the sounds of shoes squeaking and lockers being slammed. He liked walking through the hallways when he asked to go to the bathroom or to get a drink of water during class and how quiet it was. It was like no one else existed. And Harry liked the quiet. But he didn't like to be alone, which was another reason he liked school. At school, Harry was surrounded by people, even if they didn't talk to him. It made him feel not so alone. And Niall would talk to him during school, which was a big plus. Ever since Niall made the football team, he hasn't had time to hang out with Harry after school, even though he was his best friend. And during the summer, Niall went to Ireland to visit his family, which left Harry all alone. Another reason that he liked school. Being at school meant that he wasn't spending his days sitting at home waiting for school to come back so he wasn't alone. But this summer wasn't that bad. 

  
"Harry. Harry, were you listening to me?" the blonde boy who was standing next to him asked. 

  
"What? Oh, yea," Harry replied, but Niall knew that he was lying. 

  
As Niall shut his locker, he repeated his question, "What is your first class?" 

  
But before Harry could answer, someone came and knocked him to the ground. Then without helping him up, the boy just walked away. I thought things were going to be different this year, was the first thing that crossed his mind. The second thing was that he knew who it was without having to look back. Zayn Malik has always hated Harry, but it has been worse the past few years and he doesn't know why. "You good, mate?" The blonde boy asked while helping Harry up, "I thought that he was done with that. I'll be right back." Then before Harry could say anything else, Niall ran off after Zayn. 

  
Little did Harry know, someone was watching this whole encounter. And that someone felt kind of bad for him. Which was strange. Zayn picking on Harry had become a regularity at school, so people were used to it. And once people got used to something, they stopped caring about it. Except for the boy standing on the opposite side of the hallway, watching the whole situation take place, feeling bad for the poor sophomore. Louis always felt bad about people getting picked on. He thought that people didn't deserve to be treated that way. Yet he never did anything about it. He just stood there, knowing that he could do something, but choosing not to. He didn't want to risk his popularity. Right? Or maybe it was because of the fact that he was once stuck in that situation himself, and it took moving to a new school in a different city to dig himself out of it. And he would never jeopardize his social status, especially after how hard he worked to regain it. 

  
So, after closing his locker, he walked past the poor boy who had just started to collect his books off of the floor, doing nothing. _I'm sorry_ , Louis thought to himself, _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry._


	2. 1- Harry

_Please don't do anything that you are going to regret, especially for me. I'm not worth it._

Those were the words I would've said to Niall if he hadn't run off so fast. I hate when he does this. I don't need him to fight my battles, I can do that myself, even though I won't. I'm just not strong enough and to be honest, most people would hate me even more than they already do if I were to hurt or even touch Zayn. But that's just the way school works.

Anyway, enough about that, I need to get to class. As I started walking towards the English hallway, I couldn't help but feel that someone was watching that whole situation. Strange. I thought no one cared anymore, but I could be wrong. Hmm. I wonder who it could've been? And as I starting to zone out in the middle of Mr. Rucker's lecture, it hit me. The security cameras! Of course, I felt like someone was watching me because they were. But if they were then why don't they do something about it?

———-

For the rest of English, that was all I could think about. I didn't even realize that the bell rang signaling us that it was passing period until Mr. Rucker came up to my desk and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Mr. Styles?" Was all he questioned. I could only reply with a simple 'yes' because I knew that I was going to get in trouble and that scared me.

"I know that you weren't paying attention during class today," I had to swallow after he said these words because of the lump in my throat, "but since you are a good student and are doing very well in my class, I will let it slide. Don't let it happen again." Was all he had to say before turning around and going back to his desk.

While standing up and gathering my books I replied, "Thank you, Mr. Rucker. I won't let it happen again I promise." And that only earned me a simple nod of the head.

Since the science wing is right next to the English wing and I already had my biology stuff with me, I went straight to bio. And as I walked through the door I was immediately handed a pair of goggles. _Great, we are doing a lab today_.

After putting on the goggles, I headed straight to my table which happened to also be Niall's table. When I got there, I put my things on the table a little too loudly, which caused a certain Irish boy to lift his head up, revealing yet another black eye.

"Niall! What happened?" He didn't even have to answer my question because we both already knew the answer to it. "Why would you go after him again? You know that he always wins."

"I know," he replied, "but I couldn't help it. He hurt my best friend, yet again. I always think that one-time I'm actually going to win. But it doesn't matter, because you're worth it."

_No, I'm not_ was how I wanted to answer him, but I didn't because I knew he would only deny it. So instead I said, " Well thank you, but please don't do it again."

Much to my dismay, he couldn't have the chance to assure me, because Mrs. Flicker started to explain the lab we were doing. Apparently, we were dissecting worms with our lab partners. Luckily for me, Niall liked doing that kind of stuff and I haven't eaten lunch yet.

\----------

Well the lab went okay, if you could call it that. I didn't throw up, which was a plus. But Mrs. Flicker made me help Niall dissect the worm. It was disgusting, but it wasn't as bad as some of the other labs we've had to do.

So now, here I was sitting in the lunch room, at a table with Niall and some of his footie friends. They didn't mind having me there as long as I did nothing and I was perfectly okay with that. I bet you half of them don't even know my name, but that's fine because I don't know any of their names except for one. His name is Mitch. And even though Mitch is popular, he is also very shy and timid, kind of like me. So whenever Niall gets caught up in talking with his other friends, which was most of the time, Mitch and I would talk. Except for today, because Mitch is absent. So now, I am sitting at the table doing absolutely nothing except for staring at my phone.

Today has just been a great day, hasn't it? Notice the sarcasm. First, Zayn knocked me over. Next, I zoned out in English class. Then, I had to dissect a worm and now, I am all alone at lunch with no one to talk to. The only thing that could turn this day around is -ding- Right on time.

**Carrotlover28** : Hey angel, how has your day been so far?

**Stilltheonexx** : Better now that I can talk to you.

He is the reason that this summer wasn't so bad. And he's also the reason that I am smiling right now, like a child who was just told they were going to Disney World.

**Carrotlover28** : Whys that?

**Stilltheonexx** : Well I zoned out in English class, had to dissect a worm, and now the person I normally talk with at lunch is absent. But at least I can talk to you now:)

Of course, I wasn't going to tell him about Zayn. He already knew that I wasn't that popular but I didn't want him to know that I was being bullied. And I didn't want him to press on about the subject. So I quickly typed before he could respond,

**Stilltheonexx** : How was yours?

**Carrotlover28** : Oh, I'm sorry angel. You shouldn't have to be alone. I'm glad that I could make your day a little better. But mine was fine.

The bell chimed. Thank goodness, that conversation was going to get awkward. Don't get me wrong, I loved to talk to him, but I'm not very good at keeping the conversation up.

**Stilltheonexx** : That's good. I have to go, the bell just rang. Text me later. k?

And with that, I walked to geometry with a smile on my face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know the italicizing and balding is all over the place, but I had to copy and paste it from another website, which in turn deleted everything besides the words. So, sorry about that. Hoped you liked it! (The other chapters are much better, this is the first chapter I’ve ever written, so just stick with me for a few chapters before I finally figured out my writing style).


	3. Louis

**Stilltheonexx:** That's good. I have to go, the bell just rang. Text me later. k?

**Carrotlover28:** k

Well, at least I for sure know that he goes to my school. But besides for that, I know nothing about him really. Actually, I do know some stuff, like how he likes to sing and that he now goes to my school.  _ I wonder who he could be? _

"Hey! Hey, Louis!" Liam yelled, after slamming his locker shut, shaking me from the trance I was in. 

"Yea?" I replied while getting up from the position I was in, which was just me leaning against the locker next to his.

This was a tradition of ours. After lunch, we always go to Liam's locker then mine, no matter what classes we are in. This year, we weren't so lucky. Liam has economics after lunch, while I have Pre-Calc. Zayn, on the other hand, had a different lunch period than us, so we couldn't walk together. 

"Whats the matter with you today? It seems like you haven't been here," he answered.

"Oh, nothing just lost in my own thoughts. You know." It was definitely not just nothing. It was this stupid boy. He is the only thing that my mind can think about, nowadays. 

"Yea, I guess so," were the only words spoken from the time we got to my locker to the time that we left it. 

As always, when Liam got to his class he said a simple 'bye, mate' before he disappeared through the doorway. 

\----------

The rest of the short walk to the math wing was eventless. Unless if you would call a couple snogging in the hall or a few kids at their lockers events. But Pre-Calc was the same as always; take out a pencil, grab notes, pretend to write stuff down. So when my mind started to wander, I let it. And of course, the first thing it thought of was the boy.

He seemed pretty normal to me. As far as I know, he isn't some kid that has a weird obsession with rocks. And from what he told me, he doesn't have any weird hobbies, unless singing counts as weird, but I don't think it does. Hmm.  _ Does anything else seem weird about him? _

The fact that he won't tell me his name seemed weird at first. But then after awhile, I started to understand it. He knows that we probably go to the same school, I mean it was 'people near you,' he is a teenager, and this is the only school around here. So he might not want me to know who he is, in case he has a bad reputation. But just from chatting with him, I can tell that he is a sweet person. I mean he doesn't even swear! And in this school, that's saying something. 

"Okay class, that is all for today. The rest of the time is yours. Do whatever you like, just remember the rules," Mrs. Renner announced, distracting me from my thoughts. I looked at the clock on the wall,  _ yes. 20 minutes.  _ So, like almost everyone else here, I pulled out my phone. When I did, I saw that I had no new notifications. Maybe my 'k' was to bland? What if he just leaves me on read? To ensure that doesn't happen, I quickly type out the first thing that comes to my mind;

**Carrotlover28:** Who knew that school could get even more boring?

Wow, what a dumb statement. Well, actually, maybe I could use this to figure out which class he is in. And then it could help me narrow down my search for the boy that remains nameless. Then maybe I could use that to find out more stuff about him. Because that's all I want to do. I want to get to know him. I've been talking to him for 2 and a half months now and all I know is that he likes to sing and that he goes to my school.

Is it weird that I want to know his name? Or what he's like? Or his favorite food, color, song, everything? And is it weird that I barely know the boy, but I already have feelings for him?

\----------

When I got to study hall, the first thing I did was check my phone.  _ Hmm. Still no reply.  _ Maybe his phone died. Or maybe he's one of those people who doesn't carry their phones with them at school. But if that's true, then how did he text me when I was at lunch?

"Alright, everyone take out something to work on. You should know the rules by now. No phones, no talking, and you must be working on something. If you don't have anything, come to see me and I will give you something," Mr. Hall announced as he walked in through the old door frame, pulling the door closed behind him.

Of course, being the good student I am, not, I pulled out a book and set it in my lap to cover my phone, because Mr. Hall isn't going to look up from his laptop once, so no one will ever get caught. And as I looked around I realized that almost every other kid has done the same thing as me. 

_ I wonder if he's in here.  _ Wow. Thank you brain, so much. You just have to pull him back into my head, although I don't mind it that much. Trying not to get caught looking at people, I slowly tried to 'crack my back' on the chair by twisting my body. And when I twisted to each side, I got a good look at everybody in here. There were more girls than guys in my class, so it will be easier to narrow them down if he indeed is in here.

Okay first choice, Brad. Brad is a junior I think and he is very, um whats the word, punk? He has a lip piercing, nose piercing, and has those earrings in that create holes in your ears, which you could see through. So I don't think it's him.

Next up, Mike. Mike's cool. He's a senior and on the soccer team so we talk sometimes. But I'm pretty sure he has a girlfriend, considering the fact that he is sitting in the back of the class next to this girl, and that he was hugging her. Next.

Hm. This one's a bit tricky. I'm not sure what his name is, but I'm pretty sure he's a sophomore. I think I know him from something, but I'm not sure what. He looks pretty decent too, or at least his curls do, from what I can see. Which isn't much because he is sitting in the front of the class, actually doing homework.  _ So he's one of those kids.  _

"Harry, come here," Mr. Hall grunted from his desk, causing the curly-headed lad to get up abruptly. He then made his way over to Mr. Halls desk taking a paper from his hands while he continued to tell him to take this to room 190. And when he turned around to walk to the door, giving me a perfect view of his face, it clicked in my head.

Ahh, Harry! The guy from the hallway!  _ Oh, the guy from the hallway.  _ He's Nialls friend. At the beginning of the school year, Niall told us not to mess with Harry, because he was his friend. And most of them listened, except for Zayn. But I'm not sure why. 

I don't see why people would want to mess with him, though. Although he was shy, he was very pretty. He had green eyes that sparkled in the light and perfect skin.  _ What are you thinking?  _

I need to stop. He's probably not the person anyway. But just in case, I made a mental note to keep an eye on him, because I secretly hope it was.


	4. Harry

When I'm sitting on the bus, coming home from school, I can't help feeling that someone was watching me again. As I turn my head to look around, I don't see any eyes pointed towards me.  _ Hm. Maybe I'm just being weird.  _ Or maybe I'm not.

Wanting to get my mind off of the situation, I finally turn on my phone. Normally during school, I turn my phone off and keep it in my locker, except for when I go to lunch so that I can have something to do if Mitch isn't talking to me.

**Carrotlover28:** k

Then 40 minutes later, he sent something again.

**Carrotlover28:** Who knew that school could get even more boring?

I wonder what could make school so boring for him. I actually like it. I like the idea of expanding what you think, it's like exploring a new part of the universe. Or at least it is for me. It's one of the reasons why I think I want to be a teacher. I just don't like homework, although it isn't that bad.

**Stilltheonexx:** Why's that?

Gosh. That sounds lame. Have I told you that I'm an awkward person when it comes to talking and texting?  _ -ding-  _ Wow that was fast.

**Carrotlover28:** There you are, I thought you were starting to forget about me

How in the world could I forget about him? He is one of my closest friends, maybe even more.

**Carrotlover28:** But idk it just gets more boring by the minute

**Stilltheonexx:** First of all, I could never forget about you and second, I actually don't mind school

**Carrotlover28:** How could you actually like school?

**Stilltheonexx:** idk, it just isn't boring to me.

I'm not going to explain my simile of the universe to him, I don't want him to think I'm that weird.

**Carrotlover28:** Oh ok. So wyd?

**Stilltheonexx:** Just on the bus, wbu

**Carrotlover28:** me too! although I wish I wasn't, I just don't have a car yet.

Wait. He has his license. So he's a senior?  _ Great. _

It took a second for what else he said to register in my head.

_ HE IS ON A BUS.  _ There are only five buses for our school _.  _ He could be on my bus! Holy shrimp nuggets, sorry I don't swear, instead, I replace those words with others. But still, holy shrimp nuggets. What if he's on my bus? What if he is the one who was staring?

I slowly turned my head to both sides to make sure no one was looking at me again. Then I slumped down in my seat. There weren't that many people on my bus anyway. Just a few freshmen that I didn't know, Jared, Becky, and Sam who are all sophomores with me, a couple of juniors, luckily not Zayn, then a few seniors including Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne, two of the most popular kids in school. But they sat in the back, while I sat in the front, so I think I'm fine.

I didn't really like them that much though. They weren't mean or anything, they were actually pretty nice. But they were the reason that Zayn was so popular. Well, more specifically, Liam was. I think that their parents were friends or something when they were younger, so they've been best friends all of their lives. That's the only reason that Zayn is popular though, because his best friend is  _ the  _ most popular person in the school, and he was a senior. And with Zayn being a junior, that made him seem pretty cool. But with Louis, I'm not really sure how he became popular. He only moved here two years ago.

At first, he was pretty unpopular actually, but then he joined the soccer team, and I guess he was pretty good, which made Liam, the captain, want to be best friends with him. So they were the trio of popular people. But being a senior, Louis bumped Zayn down to the third most popular person in school, leaving Louis as the second. Although he still seems kind of shy, he isn't that bad anymore, as long as he has one of his friends with him.

My phone vibrating was what pulled me out of the trance I was put in by my thoughts. I smiled to myself, as I saw who it was.

**Carrotlover28:** Hello? you still there? I thought you said you couldn't forget about me

**Stilltheonexx:** sorry I got distracted.

**Stilltheonexx:** So do you have your license?

**Carrotlover28:** Yayyy your back :) but no not yet, I get it in a few weeks

**Stilltheonexx:** oh that's cool. I won't get mine for a while.

Before I could check to see if he replied, the bus was at my stop. I quickly got up from my seat without managing to trip, but when I was walking down the steps I wasn't so lucky.

I started to brace myself for the fall, but it never happened. When I opened my eyes, there was a brown-haired boy standing behind me. And the weirdest thing about it was that he was doing something I never expected him to, he was holding my arm.

"You good mate?" were the words that came out of his mouth once he was sure I wouldn't fall. And being my dumb self, all I could do was look between him and his hand on my arm with wide eyes. And if I could possibly be any dumber, I sprinted off the bus towards my house without answering him.

But as I made my way down the street, I felt it again. The hand on my arm. I snapped around, startled by the sudden interaction. Again, there he was standing in front of me.

"You never answered my question," Louis said with a smile on his face and his ocean blue eyes peering into my soul.

This time, my brain actually worked and I was able to speak words, even if there weren't that many, "Oh uh yeah, thank you." And once the words left my lips, I turned around to start walking again.

"Your welcome," he replied, falling in step beside me.

If I were to describe how I was feeling right now, nervous would be an understatement. I was freaking out. He was much prettier in person, to say the least. And at any second he could hurt me or trip me. Gosh, popular people really did scare me.

"You're in my study hall, right?" were the next words that came from the person beside me.

_ He noticed me?  _ "Uh y-yeah," I replied. Gosh brain, why can't you just work properly and not make me stutter my words?

Next, the weirdest thing happened. He laughed. Not in a mean way though, but like he found me funny.

"You're a shy one, aren't you?" he laughed again. Then he extended his hand over to me before introducing himself, "I'm Louis."

"Harry," I said, returning the handshake.

"So, why are you in my study hall? I mean I don't mind, just isn't it for juniors and seniors? And aren't you a sophomore?"

"Yeah, I am. But I'm in Geometry, which is a junior level class in the period before, so they put me in a study hall with juniors and seniors."

"I think that's the most words I've heard you speak in one sentence," he smiled to himself. He continued while scratching the back of his neck like he was embarrassed, "But that's cool. I'm not that smart. I'm in Pre-Calc, which is the lowest level of math available for seniors."

"Oh well, um, I guess I'm just book smart while you're street smart." He shouldn't feel bad about not being smart. Math just might not be his thing.

But before he could reply, I realized we were at my house. "Well this is my stop," I said, with a hint of sadness in my voice. It was nice talking to him.

"Oh, okay. See you tomorrow," he replied, waving to me as I started walking to my front door. When I got there, I gave him a simple wave back then closed the door behind me. Before the door even shut all the way, I rushed to the window by the door.

Looking out it, I saw that he was still standing in the same spot on the sidewalk looking at my house. Then abruptly he shook his head a bit and started to walk back towards the way we came.

_ Wait. Did Louis Tomlinson, the Louis Tomlinson, just go out of his way to walk me home? _


	5. Louis

He seems nice. And pretty. Very pretty, but also very shy. We'll have to work on that.

What the heck did that mean? Why would I think that? And how could that tiny little sophomore make those thoughts stick in my head all night? Causing me to get no sleep. And for the whole day? Causing me to be unfocused in class. These thoughts have been so consuming that I haven't even checked my phone since the bus yesterday. And they've been so distracting that I hadn't even realized that I was in fifth period. At least until Mr. Hall spoke up.

"Alright. So being the lucky person that I am," you could practically see the sarcasm roll off of his tongue, "our study hall has been chosen to help the student council promote homecoming. Which I don't see why we need to start now, because it is still four weeks away, but I have to do what I'm told. So for the next two weeks, you are going to be creating a poster with your partner for homecoming. And before you ask," he started, shooting daggers at the class, "you will not get to choose who you are working with. The groups are already decided."

The whole class grunted out loud. Well everyone except me, and oddly enough, Harry. My reason is that I don't mind our partners being chosen. It takes away the stress of having to find one since I don't have any close friends in here with me. I wonder what his reason is?

"I know, I know. So sad. You can't work with your girlfriend," he said, staring at Mike who grunted out a 'goddammit' a little too loudly. "This year the theme is 'A Night Under the Sea,'" how original, "Once I tell everyone who their partner is, you can get up and move your desks together to start working on your posters. You must do one, and once you finish it you can go back to being in a regular study hall. But until you are finished, you must spend every study hall working on it. School rules. If I were you, I'd want to get it done as quickly as possible."

"So here are the groups," I hate this. My hands were sweating from how nervous I was about who I was going to be stuck with for two weeks. I have to get someone decent.

"Haylee and Mia," he started. Instantly two girls next to me looked at each and giggled. Well, aren't they lucky?

"Bruce and Christina. Mike and Scott. Harry and Louis," As soon as I heard that name, my face instantly lit up. This wasn't going to be bad at all. I didn't listen to the rest of the names, because I kept on thinking of ways that I could interrogate Harry without him realizing what I was doing. Soon, I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sounds of desk sliding against the hard wood floor.

I looked up and saw that the curly haired boy that was occupying my thoughts just moments ago was standing infront of me.

"So where do you want to sit?" he squeaked out.

I couldn't help but smile at the sound of his voice. What is happening?

"Youre too cute, curly," I blurted out. The sight of him blushing made me smile even wider. "Here is fine," I finished.

He nodded and started to pull the desk next to me over to mine. But before it reached its final destination, another hand got ahold of it.

"I was going to use that desk," Brad said trying to get Harry to give in and let him have the desk.

What suprised me was the fact that Harry instantly gave in, muttering out a simple 'sorry' and ducking his head. What is he doing? He had that desk first.

"Back off Skowronski. Harry had the desk first," I threatened, standing up while staring daggers at Brad.

I saw something flash through Brads eyes. But as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared even faster. "Sorry, didn't think he needed it," he replied, letting go of his hold on the desk. I can't believe that worked.

"its okay," Harry answered, crumbling under the intense stare Brad was sending his way.

Once Brad started to grab another desk, Harry finished pulling the desk towards me. I started to say something but I was interrupted by Harry.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, gazing down at his desk while playing with his hands. I'm suprised I heard it and when I answered, I learned that he was as well.

"No problem. Now do you have any ideas for the poster?" I questioned. And at the sound of my words, Harrys face lit up.

"actually, I do," Harry smiled. But it disappeared as soon as the words left his mouth. "But we don't have to use them, your ideas are probably better," he added. What? What could possibly make that million dollar smile go away?

"Considering that I have no ideas, yours are probably much better," I chuckled. And when he heard my answer, his smile reappeared. Yay, thats much better.

"Okay so since the theme is under the sea, I was thinking that we could draw the ocean floor and then there could be fish swimming around the top of the paper with the words 'homecoming 2010' on their sides and then the grass on the bottom can say 'a night under the sea'", he explained.

"Thats a really good idea," I marveled. And I wasn't lying. It was a really good idea and I liked it alot, but there was one small problem, "but I can't draw."

He laughed. He full on laughed. I've never heard something like it before. It was like angels were- What are you thinking? Stop. Its creepy. You don't like him. You like someone else.

"I thought so," he laughed again. Gosh was that a beautiful sound. "But its okay, because I can."

"Good. I was worried for a second, because I really like that idea." My comment made his cheeks turn a little pink. Adorable.

"Okay so I will go get the materials from Mr. Hall," he chimed, getting up and walking towards the front of the room, with a smile on his face.

\----------

Today was a good day. Today was a really good day. I couldn't tell him why though. But atleast I could tell him today was a good day.

**Carrotlover28:** today was a reallyy good day

**Stilltheonexx:** now why is that?

Oof.

**Carrotlover28:** idk it just was. But how was yours?

**Stilltheonexx:** it was good too. Especially now that you are texting me.

Woah. Whats gotten into him? He is never this flirty with me.

**Carrotlover28:** well did someone get an extra boost of confidence today

**Stilltheonexx:** yep. did I tell you that you looked stunning today? Even though I didn't see you or know what you look like, I can just tell that you looked stunning today

**Stilltheonexx:** I even had two ;)

**Carrotlover28:** you know I could change that? I could tell you who I am? Because I desperately want to know who you are.

I don't even have to wait for his response to know what the answer is 'im just not ready'.

**Stilltheonexx:** I know, but I'm just not ready

See. Told you.

**Carrotlover28:** what are you scared of? you think my opinion on you is going to change just because I know who you are? You could be a criminal for petes sake and I would still like you for you

**Stilltheonexx:** I know I just don't want you to know who I am. I bet its nothing compared to who you are

**Stilltheonexx:** wait. you like me?

How stupid is this boy?

**Carrotlover28:** of course I like you. I've liked you for a long time

But wait. If he didn't know that I like him, does he like me?

**Carrotlover28:** do u like me?

**Stilltheonexx:** yea. isn't it obvious? I just didn't know if you liked me back

**Carrotlover28:** well I do. so now will u tell me?

**Stilltheonexx:** maybe ;)

**Carrotlover28:** well at least it helped a little

**Stilltheonexx:** yep. but I have to go do homework. i'll text you tomorrow

**Carrotlover28:** how am I supposed to last that long without talking to you?

**Stilltheonexx:** you'll just have to figure out how by yourself ;) goodnight sweet dreams

**Carrotlover28:** wow. im offended. but goodnight

Speaking of homework, I should probably do mine.

So, from the time of getting out the large stack of textbooks, that somehow managed to fit in my backpack, to brushing my teeth, my mind was racing. From thoughts of curly-I really like that nickname- to him to all of my messed up feelings. I like the boy, but does curly somehow play into this?


	6. Harry

As I'm sitting on the empty seat of my bus, all I can think of is how great today was.

First, I woke up happy because of what  _ we _ talked about last night, then in English, we got to watch a movie for the whole period. After English, I went to biology and found out that we had a sub, so the whole class period Niall and I just talked and laughed about stupid things. It was great. At lunch, Mitch still wasn't there, but it was okay because Niall actually talked to me! I think biology helped with that. Nothing really exciting happened in geometry, but study hall made up for it. We worked on our poster the whole time, but as we did we talked about random things that made no sense, but it was really fun.

So here I am, thinking about my amazing day when my phone goes off. Looking down, I realize that I haven't texted him at all. But that's okay, right? It's not like I'm his property or something.

Seeing all of the notifications proved me wrong.

**Carrotlover28:** hey angel how are you?

**Carrotlover28:** angel?

**Carrotlover28:** are you okay?

**Carrotlover28:** you're probably just busy with school and all.

**Carrotlover28:** yea that's it. Just busy. Not ignoring me.

**Carrotlover28:** angel it's been three hours. answer meeeee

**Stilltheonexx:** sorry I was just busy. I would never ignore you, I promise

He probably won't respond for a while since his last text was sent forty minutes ago. So, I let my mind get distracted by the blur of buildings passing through the window. The bus ride home isn't that long, only twenty minutes, but it still feels like it takes longer. I don't mind though, because I love the bus ride. Since I don't talk to anyone, it gives me time to be left alone with my thoughts. In school I have to learn and at home either Gemma or Mum is always bugging me or needing my help, so this is the only time I get to relax for longer than five minutes.

But eventually, the bus is at my stop, ending the ride too soon. So I slowly get up and walk off the bus, being careful not to trip this time. As I start to walk towards my house I hear something. Well more like someone.

"Hey! Wait up!" they shouted, stopping me in my tracks. I slowly turn around to see none other than Louis jogging towards me. I let out a deep breath because I thought it was someone like Zayn who was looking to hurt me. But it was only Louis, and him wanting to talk to me again just added onto my already amazing day.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask once he finally caught up to me.

"Oh nothing," he said with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. Why would he be embarrassed?

"Oh, okay."

We walked in silence the rest of the way home, but it wasn't awkward. It was peaceful and I didn't mind it.

Once we reach my house, he clears his throat before breaking the silence, "Um do you maybe wanna hang out later?" He scratched his head, looking down. Why was he still embarrassed? And why does he want to hang out with me?!  _ Me! _

"Uh," I pause, cause my mind is blanking on me right now. Great. "Yeah sure."

"Okay," he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper, "text me some time." And with that, he walked off.

Once he was out of view, I was jumping up and down, dancing like crazy.  _ I made a friend! A real friend! And he was popular! And he actually liked me! _

I can't hold in my excitement, so I rush inside, throwing my backpack and coat to the side, not bothering to hang either of them up. I take off my shoes before I run upstairs to my room. Mum would kill me if I wore my shoes in the house, even though she already will for not cleaning up my mess by the front door.

When I get to my room, I plop down on the bed, instantly unfolding the note to read what was written inside;

_ xxx xxx xxx _

_ text me sometime ;) _

Oh my gosh. Louis Tomlinson wants me to text him! This is the best day of my life by far!

Without me even realizing what I was doing, my phone was out and I was typing in the number. Then I sent a quick little message saying,

_ Hey, it's Harry _

Oh no. What did I just do?


	7. Louis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven’t seen the movie Scream and you don’t want the plot spoiled for you, skip over the section marked with the words scream spoiler

It's been a week since I gave Harry my number. And every day since then, we have sat together on the bus and walked from the bus stop to the park in our neighborhood. There, we would always do something different. It kind of depended on the day. Sometimes we stop at one of our houses to get a football to kick around, and other times we just sit and talk.

Right now, walking to the park with Harry, I could tell that it is going to be one of those days where we just sit and talk. He was being quiet, which was odd because once he started to open up to me, he became one of the loudest people I know. Something must be on his mind.

I looked up to see that we had finally reached our destination. We walked over towards the old, rusty swing set and sat on the swings. Harry on the left one, and me on the right.

"Haz, what's wrong?" I asked, starting to seriously worry. Harry was never this quiet. Ever. He normally always has something to say, but the only words he has said to me today was 'can you get the scissors' during study hall. I tried to get him to look at me, but he kept his gaze on the ground in front of him. He was quiet for a few more moments before he finally spoke.

"What's it like to be openly bi?"

I gulped, not expecting those words to come out of his mouth.  _ What is it like?  _ I mean my coming out story isn't the best. I didn't mind if people knew or found out about it, but I didn't go around telling everyone. And Liam knew I was comfortable with telling people, so one day during a game of truth or dare at lunch, Liam dared me to stand on top of the table and shout to the whole cafeteria that I was bisexual. I know Liam wasn't going to push me to do it if I didn't want to, but who was I to back down from a dare? So I did it. I climbed on top of the table and shouted at the top of my lungs 'I'm bi!' It resulted in me getting detention, but for standing on top of the table, not for coming out, the dean made that very clear. People didn't really care though. I mean my best friends, the two most popular people in school, supported me, so why would anyone want to bother me about it? At first, a few people did tease me about it though, but it ended when I pummeled one of their faces into a locker with my fist. So yeah, it's not that bad.

Wait. Why is he asking me?

"Harry," I paused, "are you," I didn't even have to finish my question before he shook his head once. At the sight of his nodded, I wanted to scream 'oh thank god, I'm not falling for a straight man,' but when I saw a tear roll off of his face onto the ground and I realized he was crying, the thought was immediately washed out of my mind.

"Oh Harry," I sighed, getting up to kneel in front of him. I wrapped my arms around him and whispered in his ear, "it's okay."

He buried his head deeper into my shoulder and sobbed harder.  _ What's so wrong about being bi? _

Once his sobbing had slowed down to just stray tears, he let go of me and wiped his eyes before speaking, "but it's not. I'm not. I already get bullied enough as it is." My heart clenched at his words, wishing that I could go back to that day in the hallway, and instead of being a coward, I actually stood up for him. Harry doesn't deserve it. He's an amazing person and he doesn't deserve to be treated like shit.

"But I'm open about it and I'm just fine."

"That's because you're popular," he paused, "and bi. I'm not,"  _ what?  _ "I'm gay."  _ Oh. _

I wiped a stray tear from his eye with my thumb before gently grabbing his chin, forcing him to look at me. "That shouldn't matter. But either way, I will protect you," I saw something appear in his eyes, but I couldn't tell what it was, before adding, "no matter what."

He sniffled, "Thank you. That means a lot to me. More than you know."

"Your welcome," I responded, standing up and pulling him up with me by his arm. "Come on, we are going to Danny's." Danny's is an ice cream shop where everyone goes. He immediately shook his head no.

"No, it's fine. I have ice cream at my house and my mom isn't home," he muttered, shying away from me a little.  _ Why didn't he want to go to Danny's? Everyone loves Danny's. _

"Oh, okay," I answered when we started walking towards his house.

Once we were almost at his house, he asked, "Do you want to watch a movie too maybe? We don't have to if you don't want to." He's turning into the shy boy I first met again. I need to change that.

So, I ruffled his hair while replying, "Of course Curly. Why wouldn't I?"

"But can it be horror? I love horror movies!" I added while thinking,  _ and if you get scared I can hold you. _

His head shot up, quickly shaking it no.

"Oh come on, Haz," I stopped and turned him to face me, "I told you I would protect you no matter what, even if it is from whatever is in the movie." He smiled, then nodded.

When we reached his house, he unlocked the door and I followed him inside. I've always wondered what it looked like since the first day I walked him home. Now, I know. It's bigger than I thought it was, but it was simple. It had a homey feeling about it. Like there was always warmth and love waiting for me here, even though this was the first time I've been inside.

I must have been gawking at his house for too long because he called out, "I'm going to make popcorn, you coming Lou?" I quickly snapped out of the trance I was in, nodded, and followed him into the kitchen. He had marble countertops and all of the appliances were stainless steel. It looked quite nice.

While he was making the popcorn, I asked him if he wanted to go to a party at Liam's tomorrow, since it was Saturday.

"But I won't know anyone," he responded.

"Yes, you will. I will be there and so will Niall."

"Um sure then." The microwave dinged, ending our conversation.

Once the popcorn was in a bowl, we walked into the family room. Harry set the popcorn down on the table while I asked, "Where are your DVDs?"

"In the cabinet under the tv." I searched through the cabinet, finding only three horror movies,  _ Cabin in the Woods, Scream,  _ and  _ Dracula. _

"Why do you only have like three?" I asked turning to face him since he was now sitting on the loveseat.

"The only person in my family who liked horror movies was my mom, but she stopped watching them when Gemma was born."

"Oh," I paused looking at the movies, "Do you want to watch  _ Scream?" _

He swallowed before answering, "Um sure." I could tell he was scared from the look in his eyes and the way he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

"Don't worry, Haz. I'll protect you," I assured him while putting the movie in.

**A/N: Scream spoilers**

When the beginning started to play, Harry scooted closer to my side,  _ yay. _

Then, when Casey was killed, he jumped onto my side. I threw my arm around him, side hugging him as he leaned his head into my chest.

When Tatum is killed, he squeals and buries his head in my chest more, hiding his eyes. Every five seconds, he would look up from my chest to watch the movie but would duck his head away again a few seconds later.  _ He's adorable. _

**A/N: Scream spoilers are done**

By the end of the movie, he was shaking uncontrollably. "Harry, are you okay?" He wouldn't look up at me. So, I grabbed his chin, and once I lifted his face up, I noticed he was crying.

"Oh, Haz. It's okay. It was just a movie," I tried to assure him while hugging him and patting his back, but it wouldn't work. He was still crying and shaking. "Wanna go upstairs?" I added, thinking that he might be able to calm down better upstairs, away from the movie. He nodded his head, confirming my theory.

I slowly got up, with him still clinging to my side, struggling to move. I decided that the best thing to do was to carry him bridal style up the stairs to his room.

When I swooped his feet up with my left hand, I found that even though we were the same height, he was still a lot lighter than me, so he was easy to carry.

After climbing the stairs, still holding Harry, I reached the second floor. The first step I took made a problem pop into my head. _I don't know which room is his,_ and I'm sure as hell not getting it out of this puddle of curls in my arms. So I decided to just open the first door I came to.

The first door was on my right, so I kicked it open, my hands still being occupied. I didn't even have to step foot into the room to know that it wasn't his. It was the bathroom.

So I kicked the door across from the bathroom open, revealing what looked like a teenage boys room. It had grey walls with pictures and guitars hanging all over the place. I walked in, amazed by it. This was where he slept.  _ I was in his room. _

Shaking my head, to get out of the trance I was in, I set Harry down on the bed. I tucked him in under the covers and started to make my way back towards the door, only to be stopped by a sound that any other person would think was just in their head, but I knew that voice anywhere.

"Lou, please stay," he whimpered. I turned around to face him and could finally see how big of a wreck he was in. His eyes were bloodshot, hair disheveled, and he skin was pale, too pale.  _ How could I say no to him?  _ So I shook my head yes and made my way towards the bed. I slipped under the covers and laid on my back, to the right of Harry.

Once I finally relaxed, I felt an exhaustion fall over me. I guess carrying Harry up the stairs wore me out. I was slowly starting to close my eyes when I felt something grab my left hand, pulling me onto my side. I opened my eyes to see Harry's hand. Once I was completely turned, he slipped his back against my stomach.  _ We're cuddling.  _ Oh my gosh, I had to practically keep myself from squealing. I'm cuddling with Harry! Shy, little, cute, dimpled Harry!

"Goodnight Lou," he whispered, snuggling closer to me.

"Goodnight Haz," I muttered, before closing my eyes and falling into a peaceful sleep, feeling the warmth of the boy laying with me.


	8. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have already read this, you may have noticed that the story didn’t quite exactly add up. When I looked back at it, I realized I forgot a chapter, so here it is. Enjoy!

I woke up feeling a blanket of warmth wrapped around my body.

But no, it wasn't a blanket. It was a pair of arms.

I shot my eyes open, the memories of last night rushing through my mind. _Oh God, what did I do?_ Why would I agree to that horror movie? But more importantly, why would I ask him to stay? He doesn't even like me like that. But if that's true, why did he stay last night? He knows I am gay, so it is possible but very unlikely. Maybe he was just being a nice friend. Yeah, that's it. He was just being a good-

_Holy_.

A shiver ran down my back. _Frick Louis, why do you do this to me?_

It happened again. Hot air breathed onto my neck. Thank God he was sleeping, because I moaned. I full on moaned. But I couldn't help it, he doesn't understand what he does to me.

I stopped breathing when I heard the smallest giggle, telling me that he was awake, and he did indeed hear that. Louis Tomlinson, the Louis Tomlinson, just heard me moan, because of what he did. If my life wasn't over before this, it definitely was now.

Knowing that I've already passed the point of caring about being embarrassed, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before rolling over onto my left side so that we were facing each other. But I didn't realize how big of a mistake that was until I opened my eyes to the sight of his nose against mine. That's how close we were. But Louis looked like he didn't even care.

"Morning Curly," he whispered, ruffling my hair in the process. I couldn't hide the fact that my cheeks were flushed red, because we were so close, but maybe he didn't notice.

Nope. He definitely noticed. I could tell by the small smirk that appeared on his face.

"So," I started to drift off, shyness taking over my body, "you heard that?"

"Yep. Every single moment." I gulped, worried about what might happen now. But what he did instead was the exact opposite of what I was expecting.

While rubbing my nose with his, he added, "but I loved it." I knew that I looked like a tomato by now. It was impossible not to. Louis just said he loved me moaning. _Wow, how sexual._ No, but seriously, he loved something I did.

"Uhm," I stuttered, not sure what to say.

"Come on, let's go make breakfast," he suggested, changing the topic to save me from any more embarrassment. I nodded, starting to get up, but I was thrown back in my place by two strong grips on my arms. "Nope, nevermind," Louis stated, snuggling back into me. I laughed at how childish he was acting, although I didn't really want to get up either. But it's too late now, I'm already awake.

Against my better judgment, I got up, pulling him with me. Or at least trying to, he was extremely strong and great at standing his ground. "Come on Lou, we have to get up," I whined.

"But Hazza, you're so warm. And I'm so cold," he groaned, giving in. I smiled, happy to be victorious.

"Yay!" I paused, walking towards my closet, "Would you like to borrow some clothes?"

"Sure, if I'll fit."

"Of course you will, you're not that much bigger than me," I pouted, throwing a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt that were a little big on me towards him.

"Thanks," he replied, starting to take his shirt off. My eyes bulged out of my sockets. His stomach, it... Well, it looked so nice. It was flat and looked oh so smooth. I had to snap myself out of my thoughts to make sure I wasn't drooling. _Harry! He's just your friend!_ Or is he?

"Louis!" I squeaked, instantly regretting speaking when he started to pull his shirt back down.

"Oh, um sorry," he paused, "Uhm should I change in the bathroom?" His cheeks were now a light shade of pink. Awe, I made him blush.

"No," I muttered, "it's fine. Just turn around or something."

And so he did. He turned around and took his shirt off, but I didn't have enough time to turn around before he did so. But man, was I happy I didn't. His back dimples were one of the best things I have ever seen. I could practically feel the drool splattering onto my feet. He was just so... _perfect_.

"Stop gawking and get changed," he laughed, pulling me out of my trance to see him facing me already changed. He caught me staring, frick.

"Oh uhm," I trailed off, scratching the back of my head, "sorry. Now turn around so I can change." I motioned my finger in a circle, signaling him to turn. Once he did, I turned around to face my closet. I reached in and grabbed my favorite blue shirt and some pants. I quickly changed into them, then turned around to see a pair of ocean blue eyes staring at me with what looked like lust in them. _What?_ Was he... watching me change?

But, of course, my eyes had to travel down to the rest of his body. My stupid teenage hormones. What they landed on surprised me. A bulge. In his pants. _Did I turn him on?_ I looked back up at Louis' face and apparently, he was too busy in his thoughts to notice.

"Uhm Lou," I motioned down to his pants, pulling him from his train of thoughts.

"Oh, sorry" he muttered, quickly trying to hide it.

"It's fine," I laughed, grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the door. "Come on, let's go make pancakes," I added, before closing the door to my room and heading downstairs.

\----------

**Stilltheonexx** : hey

**Carrotlover28** : I thought you forgot about me

**Stilltheonexx** : I told you I could never forget about you.I've just been busy.

**Stilltheonexx** : There's a party tonight.

I added that last part because I wanted to change the subject. I haven't forgotten about him, I could never. I've just been too busy with Louis. And I don't know, I guess I just prioritize real friends over internet ones?

**Carrotlover28** : I know

**Carrotlover28** : are you going?

To be honest, I'm not really sure. Louis wants me to, he made that very clear when we were eating the pancakes that _I_ made because he cannot cook for the life of him. But I don't know if I should. If I do go, I would probably just stick with Niall all night, but I couldn't do that to him. If he hung out with me, he wouldn't hang out with his other friends. And if he did, he would still pay attention to me, but I would just feel bad.

**Stilltheonexx** : Idk, my friend wants me to go but I won't really know anyone there

**Carrotlover28** : Of course you should go! I'll be there ;);)

There's another reason not to go. What if he somehow found out who I am? What would I do then? There is a very slim chance of that, but still.

_~Ding~_

My phone vibrated, pulling me out of my thoughts. _I thought I didn't have notifications on for SingtoMe?_ Looking down at my phone, I saw it wasn't the app, it was a text from Louis. My screen read;

Text message from _The Sass Master ;)_

He chose the name. I clicked on the notification and the text said;

_The party starts at 8. So get there around 9 ;) If you need a ride, I can drive you. See you tonight_

Ever since Louis got his driver's license, he has been wanting to drive anywhere he could, even if it was just to my house which was only three minutes away from his, or so I've been told. But he still can't drive to school since he doesn't have a car of his own, he borrows his mum's car, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I like sitting with him on the bus. If he did drive, I would have to sit alone again, and after knowing how it feels to be able to talk to someone on the bus, I don't really want to go back to that.

_~Ding~_

My phone buzzed again. _Who else could be texting me?_ When I looked down at my phone, the question was answered, Niall.

Text message from _The Soccer King_

Again, he chose the name. I really should stop letting people choose what they want to be on my phone.

_Louis told me you're going to the party tonight. Yay! You're finally going to have some fun with me! We can walk together if you want. Can't wait to see you drunk!_

Of course, Louis told him. Now I'll have to go. But walk with Niall or drive with Louis? It would be nice to catch up with Niall before he gets totally wasted because I haven't seen him in a while. Plus, I'm not sure if I trust Louis's driving skills yet.

So, after I made up my mind, I texted Niall first, saying;

_Yeah, that'd be fun. Louis said the party starts at 8 so we should get there at like 9. So meet me at my house around 8:45?_

I thought 8:45 was a reasonable time because Liam's house is farther than Louis' and it gives us extra time in case we get lost. I then went to the conversation with Louis and typed;

_It's ok, Niall and I are going to walk together. See ya_

Instantly he replied with;

_K_  

While I waited for Niall to respond back to me, I sifted through my clothes, wondering what I should wear. Once I found my favorite blue jumper, it gets cold at night, I let my mind wander. The first thing I thought about was Niall. How am I going to tell him I'm gay? The only person that know's now is Louis. Not even my mum or Gemma. But what if he doesn't accept me? What if he hates me and thinks I'm disgusting? Should I tell him tonight?

As my mind raddled off a list of questions and worries, I didn't even realize that I forgot about _him_.


	9. Harry

**8:40 p.m.**

_Five minutes._

_Five minutes till the first, and probably last, high school party of my life._

_I'll be fine._

_Right?_

**8:45 p.m.**

_I'm outside, waiting for you. Where are you, Niall?_

_He's probably not coming._

_Yeah, he's not coming. So I don't have to go._

_Yeah, I don't have to go._

I start to turn around to go back to my house when I hear the one thing I was dreading. "You're not getting out of it that easy, Styles," a thick Irish accent says, freezing me in my place.

"Ugh, come on Niall. Do I have to go?"

"Yes you do," Niall stated, grabbing my hand and turning me around. "Come on, we need to hurry, it's quite a long walk to Liam's house from here," he added, starting to walk away, pulling me with him.

"Ugh. Niall, you know I don't do well in social situations."

"I know, but this is going to help. And if you feel awkward you can just get drunk," he said, facing me, "Plus I'll be there so you can just stick with me."

"But I don't want to be a burden," I argued.

He stopped walking and only spoke when I turned to face him, "Harry, you will never, ever be a burden to me.”

"Okay," I replied, ending the conversation.

We continued walking for five more minutes in complete silence. But it wasn't the awkward kind, it was comfortable. And that's what I love about our friendship, we don't have to say anything when we're together. But the silence wasn't comfortable for me. All my mind could think about was telling him. _What if he hated me?_ Niall couldn't hate me, I'm his best friend. And Louis' bisexual and he doesn't have a problem with him. I should tell him. So, I did.

"I'm gay," I whispered, breaking the silence that formed around us.

"I know," Niall responded like it was completely normal to randomly come out to your best friend.

”What?" I asked, stopping in my tracks. _What?!_

"I know, Harry. I have known, for a while now," the fake blonde explained, turning around to face me.

"How?!" _Was it really that easy to tell that I was gay?_

"Just little things. Like how you've always wanted to paint your nails. And how you've cared more about your clothes than I care about shoes." I just stood there, dumbfounded. Well, I guess I never did a really good job at trying to hide it. "Plus," he added, "I could tell you've had heart eyes for Louis ever since you started your project in study hall. You can't stop talking about him."

"Oh," was all I could think to say, my mind coming to a blank. So he really did know, but the question is does he care? "Do you care?" I squeaked out, slightly embarrassed that we were having this conversation now.

"No, why would I? You're my best friend no matter who you love. Always have been, always will be," he answered. At his words, I instantly let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Thanks, Niall."

"Anytime," he replied, walking towards me and putting his arm around my shoulders, "Now let's go to that party you were dreading," he added, earning a grunt from me.

\-----

Once we got to the door of Liam's house, I froze. You could hear the music pumping from out here and there was a couple snogging on his porch swing. _I can't do this._

"Whatcha waitin' for?" Niall asked.

"I don't think I can do this Niall," I said, starting to feel a bit queasy.

"Okay, well how about this; We go in, stay for about a half an hour, and if you still don't want to be there than we can go back to my house and watch movies all night." _That didn't sound so bad._ "Deal?" he asked, earning a nod from me. "Okay then, let's go," he stated, opening the door and walking inside.

The first thing that hit me when we walked through the door was the pungent smell of alcohol. _Guess who's not going to be drinking tonight,_ I thought to myself.

"Come on," Niall waved, motioning for me to follow him. We snaked our way through the crowd in the living room and into the kitchen. There, around a large table, stood all of the football team, including Louis. "Hey, guys!" Niall shouted, walking over to them and giving a bunch of people the 'bro hug' that I never quite understood. The responses were all just a mix of yelling and screaming, but one, in particular, stood out to me.

"Is Harry here?" the voice I could recognize anywhere said. Niall immediately pointed over to me, revealing my safe location about a yard back from the herd.

I then watched as ocean blue eyes shifted through the crowd, making their way over towards me.

"Hey Curly," the handsome boy spoke, ruffling my hair.

"Hey Lou," I whispered back, shying away from his touch, afraid of what his friends would think.

But in doing so, I seemed to hurt Louis, although he seemed to recognize why I did it when he replied with, "Want to go outside?"

"Yes, please."

He then grabbed my shoulders, turning me towards a sliding glass door that led outside, but there was something standing in between me and the door. A crowd full of people.

Slowly, Louis guided me through the crowd with his hand on my lower back, causing a shiver to run up my spine. _Oh what this boy does to me._

Once we reached the door, I quickly pulled it open and stepped out into the cool September air. When the door was finally shut behind Louis, and I realized we were alone out here, I instantly let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Better?" the blue-eyed lad that was standing next to me asked.

"Much," I replied, walking over towards a bench near the side of the house. I sat down and Louis followed. We just sat there for a few moments, looking up at the moon and stars, shining high and bright in the dark night sky. It created this soothing atmosphere around us, although I felt like Louis didn't want to be sitting out here with me.

"You don't-" I started, at the same time as Louis was saying something, but we both stopped when we realized the other was talking.

"You first," Louis laughed.

I inhaled a deep breath before I said, "You don't have to sit out here with me Lou. You can go back inside with your friends." His face fell when he heard my words.

He took both of my hands in his and looked me straight in the eyes when he replied, "Harry if I didn't want to be out here with you, I wouldn't have suggested it." My heart was already beating fast because he was holding my hands, but it somehow picked up its pace when he said those words.

"Are you sure?" I questioned, although I knew he wasn't lying.

"I promise," he persuaded, lifting both of my hands up to his mouth and kissing them. My cheeks instantly flushed and the smile on my face grew ten times wider from his action. _Oh my gosh, Louis Tomlinson just kissed my hands. Oh my gosh._

"K-kay," I stuttered, my mind totally blanking on me, "Your turn."

"Thank you for coming tonight. I know you didn't want to, but it means a lot to me," he grinned, never letting go of my hands.

"Your welcome," I replied, my cheeks getting hotter than they already were.

With that, he turned to look back out towards the backyard, letting go of my hands, only to put his arm around my shoulder. I instantly hummed and laid my head on his shoulder. _Could this night get any more perfect?_

Apparently, I spoke too soon, because Niall shot his head through the door and shouted, "Hey Tomlinson, it's your turn on the keg stand!" Then added on a 'sorry' when he noticed he interrupted something.

Louis swiveled his head to look at me like he was asking for permission to leave. "Of course, go ahead," I said as I answered the unspoken question.

"Do you want to come to watch?" he asked, probably feeling bad about leaving me.

"Uh... sure. Just one second, though," I replied.

I watched as Louis went inside, followed by Niall, but not before Niall could send me a wink. My cheeks flushed again from the action. So I stayed outside till I knew my cheeks were no longer pink. But that wasn't the only reason. I needed to acknowledge my feelings. Okay, so I definitely like Louis, and I want to be more than friends with him, but does he want to be more than friends with me? And does he even like me? Do I even like him? I know I definitely do, but this doesn't feel like just another crush. It feels like something more.

_Maybe I love him?_

I don't know, my head is still a little woozy from when I wasn't feeling well, and all this thinking wasn't helping. But I know I need to do two things. One, I need to tell Gemma and Mum I'm gay. Two, I need to talk to Niall about my feelings.

Having made an okay plan, I decided that I should go inside before I miss Louis doing the keg stand, although I wasn't too fond of the idea. That's a lot of alcohol.

Whatever, I just need to go watch him like I told him I would. Once I'm inside, the keg stand is not in sight. I think I saw it in the living room, so I start to make my way towards it, but before I could reach my destination, I’m pulled down a hallway and into a room.

Once I open my eyes, I realize that it's the bathroom. And when I look at the person who dragged me here, all the blood rushes from my face. I notice that his eyes are glazed over like he's been drinking, but his usual scowl whenever he sees me is missing from his face. Instead, it's been replaced by a frown that looks worried, anxious even. And it doesn't take long for me to see the fist that is frozen in midair and for panic to kick in.

"Please don't, Zayn," I squeaked out, "Please don't-" but was cut off by something completely unexpected. It barely even registered in my head that he was kissing me before I was pushing him off of me. "What the-"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Harry" Zayn pleaded, looking like he sobered up real fast.

I slowly touched my fingers to my lips, shocked and confused. But it only lasted for a few seconds, before a panic attack starts to set in.

I have to get out of here.

I throw the bathroom door open and try to make my way to the front door, but it's extremely hard to navigate when your vision is becoming blurry. I feel myself ram into bodies, but I don't care.

I finally feel the cool metal of what I think is a door handle, and pull on it, hoping that it's the front door. When I feel a cool breeze blow against my skin, I realized I'm outside and I start to walk but it's hard to when you are stumbling around like a fool. I finally give up on walking and fall to my knees, not sure where I am, but I feel something soft, I'm guessing grass when my knees hit the ground.

I start to breathe so heavily that I can barely hear someone talking. "Woah, are you okay?" The person says, kneeling down beside me. "Let's get you out of here," he suggests, picking me up by the arm and throwing it over his shoulder so he could help me walk. I'm not sure where I'm going or whose helping me, but whoever it is, I'm thankful. I couldn't let Louis or Niall see me like this.

I hear a door being opened, but instead of loud music, I hear quiet. I then feel the person lifting my arm off of there shoulder and then they use that arm to sit me down on what seems like a bed. I'm still breathing heavily and I think the person that's helping me has realized that I'm having a panic attack because they keep telling me 'deep breathes.'

"Breathe in, breathe out," the stranger orders. I follow their instructions and feel myself slowly calming down. But then the voice stops. It returns a few seconds later and says, "breath in through your nose." So I do. And I smell something sweet, like a flower.

Whatever it was finally helped lull me into a dreamless sleep, my body finally relaxing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the tenses and everything are still all over the place, just stick with me, I still haven’t found my style of writing yet (I’m typing this from a later pov)(it gets better soon). When I have time, I will go back and edit this whole thing. But until then, goodluck.


	10. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tenses are all over the place, just be warned

I wake up the next morning in a place I'm not familiar with. I start to feel panic setting in again when I hear someone say, "hey, hey calm down, it's alright. You're safe here." I close my eyes and take deep breathes, not seeing who is standing by the side of the bed until I open my eyes after the panic feeling that was rising wilted away.

But when I do, I am instantly shocked. What is he doing here?! And why is he helping me?!

"W-what am I doing here? What are you doing here? Where is here?" I ask, worry setting in again.

"Don't worry, you're fine. I will explain everything downstairs," Liam said, exiting through the door. I decide that he's the only way I am going to find out what happened, so I follow him.

\-----

Once I'm seated at the dining table, Liam sets a plate of pancakes down in front of me and then sits down across from me. "Dig in," he suggested. I slowly started to eat, waiting for an explanation from him. "So," he paused, "I'm guessing you don't remember what happened last night. Right?" I nod, "And I'm also guessing that you want to know what happened, where you are, and why I'm here. Right?" I nod again.

"Okay, so last night I was sitting outside on my porch step, not really in the mood to party, even though I was the one who threw it, when you came rushing through the door, wobbling everywhere. At first, I thought you were drunk, but then you collapsed onto your knees and I could hear your breathing all the way from the porch. So, I got up and went over to you. That was when I realized you were having a panic attack, so I brought you over to my grandparents' house, who lives next store, and I brought you up to my room. I told you to breathe and once you seemed like you could handle being alone for a few seconds, I went to get lavender out of the bathroom cupboard. I then had you smell it and you relaxed. You fell asleep a few seconds later," he finished, staring at me. I then realized that I stopped chewing because I was amazed at how he handled it, so I finished chewing, swallowed, then decided to ask him questions.

But before I could, Liam was talking again, "And don't worry, I texted your mum that you were at Niall's when she texted you to see where you were. And I texted Niall and Louis saying that you went home early because you weren't feeling good. And my grandparents are out of town with my family, so no one else is home." Wow, who knew the most popular kid in school could be so nice? But right now, he didn't feel like the most popular person, he just felt like a friend.

"Well thank you, Liam," I replied, "but how'd you know what to do? And with the lavender, how did you know it would work?"

"My sister actually has panic attacks as well, so that's how I knew what to do. And with the lavender, I didn't actually know it would work. Or at least that well. Normally, it just helps my sister calm down, but she is usually still stressed after smelling it. With you, it calmed you down completely."

"Oh," I laughed, kind of embarrassed at how he saw me in such a fragile state.

"Harry," Liam whispered, making me look up at him, "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Thank you, Liam. It really means a lot to me," I responded, but something else popped into my head. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

He chuckled as he answered with, "Oh, Louis talks about you all the time. He won't shut up about you," _What?_ "You know he really likes you, right?"

My cheeks flushed at the last part, a smile slowly forming on my face. "No, he doesn't, we're just friends," I mumbled, embarrassment, but also happiness, spreading throughout my body, causing me to find the table suddenly very interesting.

"Well he wants to be more than that, and by the way you are blushing right now, I can tell that you do too," he exclaimed, laughing when I shot my head up and my eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets. Does he want to be more than friends? _What?!_ "See, I told you so," he chuckles, "Anyway, once you are done eating, you can shower upstairs in the bathroom, and then I can drive you home."

Liam stood up from the table, leaving me with my half-eaten pancake. Deciding that I was no longer hungry, I walk into the kitchen, clear my plate, and put it in the dishwasher before heading back upstairs. Once I close the door, I turn around and notice that there are a towel and a stack of clothes sitting on the vanity with a note on top. I pick up the note and read;

_These clothes should fit you. If not, feel free to go into my closet to find something else that fits. Oh! and with the shower, turn it all the way to the right before setting it to the desired temperature or else it won't get hot._

I smile to myself at how nice he really is. I guess all jocks aren't bad.

After fixing the shower temperature, I take off my clothes and step into the shower. I squirt some of the shampoo into my hands and massage it into my curls, making my hair smell like apples. I then do the same thing with the conditioner. Once I rinse out my curls, I wash the rest of my body. I then turn the shower off, grab the towel, step out of the shower, and dry myself off.

My eyes then dart over to the stack of clothes sitting there, wondering if Liam included underwear. Luckily, he didn't, so I just put mine on then put the rest of the clothes on. And standing in the mirror, looking at myself, I finally remembered why I had the panic attack, _Zayn_.

He kissed me. My bully, the person who hates my guts, kissed me. What am I supposed to do now? Is he going to go back to bullying me, or are things going to change?

Not wanting to think about that now, I shake my head to clear my brain of any thoughts related to last night or the future. I then ran my hands through my curls, did a once-over in the mirror, decided that the jeans and grey t-shirt weren't too big, and went down the stairs.

I finally found Liam in the living room, sitting on the couch looking at his phone. Once, he noticed I was there, he asked, "You ready?" to which I responded with a nod. He then led me outside and took me back over to his house. Once inside, I realized how big of a mess it truly was.

"Do you want me to stay and help clean it up?" I asked, feeling bad that he had to worry about me and now he has to clean this up.

"No it's fine, a few of the guys from the footie team who aren't hung over are going to come and help me pick it up later," Liam answered, grabbing some keys from a hook in the laundry room. He then walked through another door and opened his garage. We got into the car and began the five-minute drive back to my house.

Once he pulls into my driveway, I turn towards him and spoke, "Thank you for everything, Liam. Last night could've gone much worse, so I really appreciate it."

"Your welcome," he replied, turning off the car engine. Why would he do that? "But before we go, we need to talk about some things," he said, facing me. I gulped, noticing how serious he looked, and I realized this might not end well.

Noticing the expression on my face, he laughed as he told me, "No, I'm not going to hurt you or anything like that," I felt my shoulders relax, "I just forgot to tell you some things back at the house."

"Okay," I giggled, slightly embarrassed at how he noticed, but relieved that he wasn't going to do anything.

"So first, I put my number in your phone, so that if you ever get another panic attack at school, you can go to the bathroom and you can text me and I'll meet you there and help you out. Or if it just happens anywhere, even if I'm not in the same place as you, text me and I'll come to pick you up."

"Thank you," I replied, feeling like that's all I've said today, not used to people being so helpful.

"Your welcome. Second, remember what I said about Louis and his feelings. Use that information wisely," he smirked, making my cheeks flush red. "And finally, we are friends now, so if you see me in the hallways or something, don't be afraid to say hi," he finished, sending me a friendly smile.

"Okay," I responded, opening the door to get out, "Thank you again."

"No problem," Liam replied, before adding, "Oh and if you ever just wanted to text me, not for reasons related to panic attacks, to like hang out or something, do it. I'll probably say yes." I smiled and nodded my head at the offer, going to close the door, but freezing when Liam spoke up one more time. "Oh! And just give me the clothes back on Monday!" he shouted through the car, sticking his head as far as he could over to the passenger side so he could see me.

Laughing, I responded with, "Okay I will! See you Monday!"

And with that, I closed the door and walked up to my house with a smile on my face from making a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think about the person being Liam? Did you expect it? Please comment your thoughts! 
> 
> And should I ask you guys more stuff like this?


	11. Louis

"Hey!" Liam shouted, looking across the lunchroom and waving. _Who in the world could he be talking to?_

Curiosity taking over, I turned my head towards the direction he was waving. What my eyes landed on shocked me. Frozen in the middle of the room, sat an embarrassed Harry, waving shyly back at Liam. _What the hell?!_

Liam then motioned for the curly haired boy to get up and come over here. My jaw dropped to the floor when he slowly got up from his table to walk over to ours. When he finally arrived, the whole lunchroom was quiet, observing the scene that was taking place, just as confused as I was.

"Well sit," Liam joked, motioning to the empty seat that was across from him and diagonal from me. Following orders, Harry sank into the seat, placing his brown lunch tote onto the table. "So Niall's not here?" Liam asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"No, he's probably still hungover," Harry laughed, causing Liam to laugh as well. _What?!_ I just sat there, completely dumbfounded, my head swiveling from Harry to Liam then back to Harry. How do they know each other? Why are they talking? Why are they laughing?! The chatter started to pick up around me as I realized that everyone else decided to give up on the conversation, already deciding it's boring, but I wasn't going to let it go so easily.

"Wha-" I started, not sure of what to say, "How? When? What?! You two know each other?!" If I kept moving my head, it was sure to come off, so I stopped looking in between them and decided to look at Liam because he's probably the person I could get more answers out of.

"Oh, we're just friends. We met at the party," Liam explained, although it didn't explain much. But as I saw them continue on with their conversation, I decided to let it go _for now_. "If he's ever not, here again, you can always come over and sit with us," Liam invited, instantly making me smile. One of my best friends and my... What is he to me? Is he just my friend? Is he more? Or is he just nothing?

_I need to know where Harry and I stand_ , I thought, hoping it wasn't the last option.

"Louis," Harry said, waving his hand in front of my face.

"What?" I replied, snapping out of my trance.

"Liam asked you how your history test went," he answered like it was obvious.

"Oh," I sighed, not wanting to talk about how it didn't go well.

\-----

"Why didn't you tell me that you and Liam were friends?" I asked, stepping off the bus.

"I don't know, I just didn't really think it was that important," he answered, following right behind me.

"Of course it's important! My best friend and my-" I cut myself off, hoping he didn't hear that, "and you are friends now! It's huge news! It's amazing!" I shrieked, barely holding in a squeal.

"Sorry, maybe I was just too busy with coming out to think-"

"You did what?!" I questioned, stopping in my tracks.

"I came out to my mum," he said, smiling down at his shoes.

"That's amazing, Harry!" I hollered, practically tackling him with a hug, "That's great! How'd it go?" I added, pulling back so I could look at his face.

He bit his lip, sending me mixed signals until it broke out into a huge smile, "Well, they said that they already knew, but that they love me all the same!" he squealed out, something appearing in his eyes that was very rare nowadays, pure joy.

"That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" I said, pulling him into yet another hug.

I never wanted to let go, but eventually, I had to. So I pulled back, but as we continued to walk, I kept one arm around his shoulders. "Thanks, Lou. It means a lot to me," he grinned.

"Your welcome," I responded. "But can I ask, why'd you suddenly decide to do it?"

He was silent for a moment, probably thinking through everything that happened this weekend. "Well, on Saturday I told Niall, and he said that he also already knew," his cheeks blushed at the last part of the sentence, for some odd reason, "And that gave me enough confidence to tell them, I guess. And knowing how you reacted, and supported me no matter what helped a lot." He smiled up at me since I was still taller than him, and I smiled back down at him.

“Well, in that case, you're welcome," I joked, causing Curly to laugh. And when I heard those beautiful sounds erupt from his lips, it finally hit me.

_I love him._


	12. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since there is so much online chatting, I shortened carrotlover28 to cl28 and stilltheonexx to stoxx

**Carrotlover28** : Hey...

**Stilltheonexx** : why the...?

**cl28** : idk we just don't really talk anymore :(

It's true, we really didn't, I guess I've just been to busy with other things. Our poster is due next Monday and we've barely gotten any of it done because we are always distracting each other. And Niall has been wanting to hang out more after football practice, so basically, I'm switching off between Niall and Louis. When Niall is at JV practice, I am with Louis. When Louis goes to Varsity practice, I am with Niall. And to add onto it, Liam has been trying to do something for a while now. Not that I mind, I've just barely had time for homework, let alone talk to some random guy on the internet.

No, that's not true. He's not just some random guy on the internet, he's him. Although I wish I could put a name to him, but I'm just not ready. What if he stops talking to me once he finds out how weird and lonely I am? Or what if I don't really want to take this any farther than random guy on the internet? Wait, _what?_

**cl28** : hello?

**cl28** : see, I knew you would forget about me

**stoxx** : No! that's not true, I just got caught up in my own thoughts.

**cl28** : oh. Well in that case, how was your day angel?

**stoxx** : it was fine. I've made a few new friends, so that good

**cl28** : that's great! just don't forget about me :'(

**stoxx** : I could never

That's a lie. I already have. Twice. The first time was before the party on Saturday, and the second time was during lunch today. Niall wasn't there, again, so I went to sit at Louis and Liam's table, although Louis wasn't there either, probably had lunch detention. But I just got so caught up in talking to Liam and actually having fun at lunch that I totally forgot about him.

**stoxx** : Anyways, can I ask what your username means?

**cl28** : oh lol. Okay so basically at my old school, I once made this comment about how I like girls who like carrots, and people wouldn't let me live it down. Everyone called me carrot lover and sometimes would bring me carrots, although I wouldn't mind. It only started to get annoying when girls would purposefully eat carrots in front of me, and most of them would wink. But I always got a crack out of the name. But that was like in eighth grade when I made this account, and SingtoMe has the stupid rule where you have to pay to change your username, so I guess I'm stuck with it.

**cl28** : and 28 is my lucky number sooooo yea

**stoxx** : that's hilarious lol

It was quite funny, I have to say that. But he made this account in eighth grade? So he's been on it for at least three years... Why would he want to be on this crummy app for so long?

**cl28** : ikr. So what's the deal with yours?

**stoxx** : well it's definitely not as funny as yours, but my favorite song is You're Still The One by Shania Twain, but that username was taken, so I chose this one instead.

**stoxx** : but why have you been on this app so long? no one uses it anymore

**cl28** : but you're using it rn

**stoxx** : that's only because I still had it on my phone from when it was popular, even though I never used it, and one day a notification popped up that said you added me, so I decided to check it out. And here I am

**cl28** : aweee I'm the reason that you started using it again. But I had to add you, the recordings of your voice were just impeccable.

**cl28** : And I actually deleted the app freshman year, but when I moved to a new school the summer before junior year, I decided to download it again to see if I could meet any new people. I eventually got bored of it though, and I never deleted it. Then on the second of June this year, I decided to go onto it one last time to see if there was anything worth not deleting it for. And that was the day I met you

He, he actually remembers the exact date? I could feel my heart melting for him all over again, when I finally thought it was done.

**stoxx** : you remember the date?

**cl28** : of course I do silly, it was the day I met you. One of the best days of my life

**stoxx** : awww

"Harry!" Mum yelled, signaling that she was home from the grocery store and that she was probably going to need my help.

**stoxx** : I have to go, my mum needs my help unloading the groceries, but talk to you later, k?

I didn't even wait for a reply knowing that my mum was going to be mad that it took me that long to get downstairs. But I didn't mind if she was mad, all I could think about was how I was glad that I didn't ignore the notification that popped up on my screen one day from that old app no one even used anymore. Glad that the app never let you record your face, only your voice so that he wouldn't know who I really was. Because if he did, those new notifications would slowly disappear.


	13. Louis

_**F** _

_What?_

"Louis, see me after class please," Mrs. Renner spoke, continuing to hand out the rest of the papers.

How could I get an F? I have never gotten one before, although I have gotten a few D's. I wouldn't say that I was great at school, but I'm not terrible at it either. I average mainly B's, so I don't have to try that hard, but I could stay on the football team, except for math. That one is a C right now, and this grade will probably be the one to push it over the edge to a D. If it's a D, I can't play football. Stupid piecewise functions.

_-ding-_

I hadn't even realized that it was the end of class until the bell rang, signaling for everyone to leave. I stayed back, as instructed, to see if I could somehow change my test grade so I could continue playing football. I needed football.

"Mr. Tomlinson," my hobbit of a math teacher said, walking over to me. She was very short, probably only four foot eight, but that's most likely because she has shrunk. Mrs. Renner is about sixty years old and has white hair with brown eyes that seem to be fading, so she wears brown-rimmed glasses to help with that. She was a very nice teacher, but she could easily snap if you got on her bad side, or if she was having a bad day. Luckily, I was on her good side, but unluckily she seemed to be having a bad day. "Mr. Tomlinson?" she asked again, her patience growing thin.

"Yes," I replied, trying not to make her day worse.

"I think you should get a tutor."

"What? No, I'll be perfectly fine, I don't need help. I can just study more or something," I rambled on, the thought of having a tutor making me say almost anything to get out of it. Only weird people have tutors.

(A/N: I do not believe only weird people have tutors, I think that if you need help learning, you should get it. I even want to tutor my senior year! This is only Louis' opinion, since he is almost a stereotypical jock.)

"Do you want to continue playing football?" Mrs. Renner interrogated, placing her arms on my desk and leaning down so that she was eye level with me. Even though she was old, she could be incredibly scary.

"Yes," I mumbled, looking down at my desk since I knew what she was going to say next.

"Well then," she paused, getting up from my desk, "you are going to need a tutor. I will let you know when I find one for you." _Ugh, could this day get any better?_ First missing the bus, which meant missing out on time with Harry, and now having to get a random tutor, missing out on more time with him. If only he could be my tutor. _Wait_.

"Mrs. Renner?" I asked, causing her to look towards me, "What if I already have someone that might be able to help me?"

"Who might that be?"

"Harry Styles," I announced. She squinted her wrinkly eyes towards me.

"Isn't he a sophomore?" I nodded my head.

"But he's very smart. Right now, he's in geometry and I'm sure he could help me," I explained, not wanting to have anyone else but himself tutor me.

"I think that might work, but he probably doesn't remember the topic since he hasn't taken Algebra Two since last year," she replied, although it seemed like she was talking to herself. Mrs. Renner looked down at a few of her papers before speaking, "Ah yes," she said like she was answering a question she asked herself, leaving me confused.

"He's in Mr. Bolt's geometry class. Mr. Bolt was talking about how he felt like Harry should be moved up to Pre-Calc yesterday in the teacher's lounge," she explained, even though it didn't help. "I might have to refresh him on the topic a little bit, but that should work. And if it doesn't, we will get you a new tutor. Do you know what his study hall is?"

"Yes!" I shouted, jumping out of my seat. Harry was going to be my tutor! _Yes yes yes yes yes!_

_No_ , was the look Mrs. Renner was sending me with her eyes since I just jumped out of my seat. "Sorry," I mumbled, sitting back down. "His study hall is with Mr. Hall," _and me_ , I added in my head, smiling at the thought of spending more time with him.

"Okay, but you have to ask him about it first," Mrs. Renner reminded me. She must have seen how happy I was about it, and knowing me she knew that I would have just forced him into this without actually asking if he wanted to. I would never want to make him do something he didn't want to (on purpose).

"Yeah, I know," I said as if I totally wasn't going to do what she thought I was.

She cheerfully rolled her eyes at me as she smiled and said, "You're excused." I got up and walked over to her desk, grabbing the two passes out of her hand. _Wait, two?_ I sent her a confusing look before she motioned up to the clock, which told me that fifth period had already started.

"Thank you," I sang as I walked out the door, practically skipping from all the joy I was feeling.

\-----

I rushed through the door, stopping when I realized it was dead silent. The excitement from Harry tutoring me made me forget that people normally don't go slamming through doors like something important just happened, although something big did just happened (at least to me).

I heard someone giggling, and I looked around the room to try to figure out who it was. My eyes finally landed on a particular curly-haired lad. From the looks of it, he looked like he could piss himself at any moment from all the laughter as he tried (but desperately failed) to hide the sounds escaping from his lips. I couldn't help but smile at the way his nose crinkled and his eyes closed when he laughed.

"Tomlinson, geez," Mr. Hall huffed, pulling me out of the trance I was put in.

"Sorry," I murmured, feeling like I said that a lot today. I made my way over to Mr. Hall's desk, handing him one of the slips of paper. He read it, then nodded, signaling for me to go take my seat. The whole way over to my desk, I stared at Harry who was starting to somewhat get control of his giggles.

I slid down into the cool metal chair, never breaking the eye contact. "What?" he asked, confused as to why I was staring.

At his words, worriedness ran through me. _What if he didn't want to be my tutor? What if he thought I was too dumb to help? What if-_

"Louis," Harry said.

"Sorry. Uhm," I paused, taking a deep breath, willing up the courage to ask him, "would you want to tutor me for math?" Harry just stared at me for a few moments, making me feel even worse. _Of course, he doesn't want to, he probably thinks I'm hopeless. That I'm dumber than a rock. Why did I even ask him?_ "You don't have to if-"

"No, I want to, I was just caught off guard. Are you sure? I am a grade level lower than you in math, two just in general." I let out a deep breath, one I didn't know I was holding.

"Of course I am, Mrs. Renner said she would refresh you on the topic since you probably already learned it in Algebra Two," I assured, handing him the pass. He read it over with those emerald green eyes of his. Wow, was he beautiful. _Louis, stop it. Now's not the time._

"Okay, I'm going to go. See you on the bus, yeah?" Harry asked, standing up from his seat.

"Yeah," I responded, watching him walk out, maybe sneaking a look at his bum once. Only once. (Definitely more than once).


	14. Louis

"Hey," I chirped, sliding into the seat next to Harry.

"Jesus, you scare the bejeebers out of me," he shrieked, grabbing at his chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hazzabear," I sighed wrapping my arms around him, before realizing what has been said. _What. The. Fuck._ I just said that out loud. I, Louis Tomlinson, have just admitted to giving Harold Edward Styles a cute nickname. One in which fits perfectly for someone who is in a _relationship_.

"What?" Harry asked, both of us tensing up, causing my cheeks to blush. I can't believe I just called him the secret nickname that I've been calling him since he told me he was gay. I'm such an idiot.

"Um-uh," I stuttered, trying to come up with an explanation.

"Tell me," Harry whispered into my ear while patting my arm. A shiver ran through me, which I hope he did not see.

"Sorry, it just slipped out," I apologized, shaking my head. This is so embarrassing.

"It's okay Lou," he whispered again, causing me to shiver all the same, although I should be used to it. "It's cute," he added on, causing the embarrassment that I was feeling to rush completely out of me. Now all I felt was warmth and love. I laid my head on his shoulder so I didn't have to respond because, honestly, I didn't think I could form words right now without slipping up yet again. Harry played with my hair for a bit, twirling it between his fingers, before he finally rested his head on top of mine. We fit perfectly, like two puzzle pieces that created a beautiful picture.

"Awe," someone cooed, causing my head to jerk up off of his shoulder, breaking the picture back into the two pieces. Two pieces who wished they were whole again. I looked over to the person who had almost scared the shit out of me, only to find one of my best mates, Liam. Of course he cooed, he knows.

"Shut the fuck up, Liam" I warned, playfully punching him in the arm. He plopped into the seat across from us, sending me a knowing glare.

"Harsh mate," he responded. "Hey Harry," Liam greeted, waving to the boy who was blushing furiously next to me. It's probably because he just caught us being all couply when we aren't a couple. If only I could know what was running through that boy's head right now.

"You good?" I questioned Harry, hoping he might give me a clue.

"What," he snapped his head up, "Oh-uh yeah."

"So do you guys have practice tonight?" Harry asked, hoping to change the subject. I looked over at Liam, hoping that he would answer because I had no clue. Being best friend's with the captain helps when you can never remember the schedule.

"No actually," Liam answered, "They said that the field was looking a little dry, so they wanted to spend the day sprinkling it."

"Yay," I sighed, happy that I could spend more time with Harry.

I felt the bus start to move when Harry decided to speak up. "Yay to learning," he mocked, reminding me that we actually had to study.

Liam shot us a questioning look to which I explained that Harry was my new tutor. "You need a tutor, Louis? What the hell, you can't get your grades below a C, you know that," Liam scolded me, earning an 'shh' from the bus driver.

"Of course I know that," I responded, "He's my tutor so my grade won't go below a C." Harry nodded, agreeing with me.

\-----

We waved goodbye to Liam before we got off at our stop.

"So do you want to study at my house?" I asked, knowing that no one would be home to bother us.

"Sure," Harry said. I started off towards my house, hoping that he would follow. When he did, I slightly scolded myself. _Why wouldn't he follow you, dipshit? He is going to your house._

We walked in silence for most of the trip, except when we talked about our poster for Homecoming. It should be done by next week, and with the deadline that next Friday, I'd say that was good timing. The poster itself was fucking gorgeous. It was a blue background, with sand on the bottom and tall green grass flowing around in the current. We haven't started the fish or lettering yet, because we talk so much, but it should be done soon.

When we turned the corner on my street, it finally hit me. He's going to see my house. "Harry," I spoke, breaking the comfortable silence. He looked over, telling me that he was listening. "I have to warn you, I live with four sisters, two of them being six, so our house is a little hectic," I swallowed, worried about what he would think. It's not like our house wasn't decent, it was actually pretty nice, it was just that with six people living there, it wasn't very clean. And it kind of seemed crowded. Plus with having two six-year-olds meant having a lot of dolls, and whatever else they liked to play with, everywhere. Literally, _everywhere_. It was nearly impossible to walk into the living room without stepping on something. And with my mum working so much to support us, Lottie away at school, Fizzie busy with homework, and myself with football, it was very hard to keep the place clean.

"Louis?" Harry shouted, waving a hand in front of my face. I hadn't realized that I stopped walking, too caught up in my own thoughts.

"W-what?" I mumbled, trying to re-give Harry my attention.

"You completely zoned out on me," he explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I was just telling you how I don't care what shape your house is in."

"Are you sure?" I asked because I knew he was going to regret it when he finally saw it.

"Positive," he smiled. "Good, cause we're here."

\-----

Well, I wasn't wrong. When he finally walked into my house, he just stood there for about three minutes, taking in the place. It was in better shape than it usually was, I guessed Fizzie cleaned up a bit, but it was still a mess. It didn't really bother him once he got used to it. He said it felt 'homey' which I thought was weird because all I would use to describe it was hectic, but oh well. So now, sitting up here in my room, I was thanking myself for deciding to make my bed and clean my room up a bit this morning. At least it was decent in here.

"I'm going to get changed, do you want to borrow some clothes?" I asked, walking over to my closet.

"Actually," he paused, "do you have any sweatpants I could wear? I'm dying for something comfortable." I smiled at him before I turned around and reached into the black hole. It was a black hole because it was filled with so many clothes, that if you actually reached the back, you would probably never be able to get out again. I threw him a pair of navy blue sweatpants before I pulled out some black sweatpants for myself.

"I'm going to change in the bathroom, you can change in here," I told him, although I wasn't sure why. We changed in front of each other at Harry's house, so why couldn't we here?

He nodded to me before I walked into the bathroom that was connected to my room. It was the only room that had an on-suite because it was the master bedroom. When we moved out here, the house only had three rooms and Mum decided that I needed my own space because I was one- a teenager, and two- the only man in the house, so she gave me the master bedroom. Lottie and Fizzie share a room, although it's really just Fizzie's, then the twin's share a room, while my mum sleeps on the sofa. Another reason our house is such a mess, we are using the living room as a bedroom.

I shook my head to stop thinking because I had to study. I walked out of the room to see that Harry was sitting on my bed, surrounded by books. "You ready to get your learnin' on?" he asked in his best Southern accent, causing both of us to laugh.

\-----

"Ugh, we've been doing this _forever_ ," I grunted.

"I know," Harry agreed, falling back onto my bed. I immediately did the same so we were laying next to each other. He looked over at me as he said, "I think we've done enough studying for today," smirking at me.

"Yay!" I shouted, grabbing the curly-headed boy and pulling him closer to me. I hadn't realized what I'd done, again, until we were just two tense bodies laying next to each other, arm touching arm. It took a few seconds, but once he finally relaxed, I did the same. What he did next surprised me. Apparently, it surprised Harry too because a faint blush appeared on his cheeks after he rolled onto his side and hugged me, laying his head on my chest, so we were cuddling. _Holy shit_ , we were cuddling.

"We should probably turn off the radio," Harry laughed as the first few beats to 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey came on. I laughed along with him until it grew quiet, as we both listened to the song. Once the song ended, it stayed silent.

It was silent until the first two beats of another song came on. "Oh, I love this song!" Harry squealed, gripping me tighter.

"What song is it?" I giggled at how he already knew what it was, after only a few notes.

"You're Still The One by Shania Twain. It's my favorite song ever," he hummed. All the blood drained from my body as I grew tense.

_What ?_


	15. Louis

_It's him._

_It's always been him._

_How had I not known?_

_It was obvious, yet I didn't have a clue. How shy he was, how he didn't want me to know who he was. Dammit, even the party! He said he wasn't really sure about going, but changed his mind once I texted him._

_How could I have been played so easily?_

_And how can I not care that much?_

"Mr. Tomlinson!"

"What?" I answered, shooting my eyes up from the floor towards the person who was screaming at me.

"I have been trying to get your attention for ten minutes!" Mr. Smith shouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, just a lot's on my mind."

"It's okay, you've just missed the bell for second period, that's all. Your lucky that I have a free period right now, cause people would have seen," he chuckled, his voice returning to its normal level. My cheeks flushed red at his words as I realized that if people saw me, they probably would've laughed. "What's on your mind, son?" He asked, giving me yet another reason to be my favorite teacher. He has always cared about his students.

"Um, a lot actually," I responded, smiling up at him, "do you mind if I stay here for a few more minutes?" I still need to think over some stuff, and a few more minutes could help me get it over with so I could focus in class.

"No, of course not. Who's your second-period teacher?" he requested while walking over to his computer.

"Mrs. Smith actually," I laughed, knowing that it was his wife.

"Oh, well then I'm going to hear about this tonight," he chuckled, typing on his computer, "Okay I sent her an email saying that you were going to need ten more minutes to finish up a test. Is that enough time?"

"That's plenty, thank you so much," I rejoiced.

"Your welcome," Mr. Smith acknowledged before looking back at his computer.

Okay, now that I could think for a little, _what am I going to do?_

It's not like I can go to him with advice like I normally would because he would obviously find out. And it's not like anyone else knows about the situation I'm in or the fact that we both can sing. I've been keeping it a secret and I'm sure Harry has too. And it's not like he knows that he just confessed to being the person he is online, so he isn't stressing out about it like I am. But he has been hiding it from me this whole time, although I've also been hiding it from him.

I guess that's the reason why I don't really care that he played me. First of all, he doesn't even know it was me. Second, I've also been keeping a secret from him, and finally, he never actually wanted to know who I was. I could tell now that he never had any plans of moving it farther along then just online friends, even though I was. But I'm not disappointed, I still have Harry. I finally know that our feelings were only for each other, so why should I worry?

_Wait. That means that Harry may not like me! Or maybe he never liked online me? Or maybe he liked both of us and was just using online me? What if he likes neither of us?_

Shaking my head, I realized that I needed to tell someone about my situation, and I had in mind the perfect person. Shooting up out of my chair, I walked over to Mr. Smith's desk. "Thank you for letting me stay later," I beamed, "It helped me a lot."

"You're welcome," he replied, handing me a slip of paper that must be my pass, "If you ever need to stay after again, just let me know."

"Okay, thank you," I responded, feeling like I've said that a lot in the past twenty minutes. I started walking towards the door when I was stopped by Mr. Smith's voice.

"Oh, and Louis one more thing," I turned around to face him, "Make sure you don't tell Mrs. Smith about this," he winked.

"I won't," I smiled, facing the door once more.

And as I was walking through the door he shouted, "And tell her I said hi!"

\------

"The Spanish started exploring because-" Mrs. Smith droned on and on, trying to use every last second she gets.

_One minute._

How could she be my least favorite teacher while Mr. Smith was my absolute favorite? Maybe opposites do attract after all.

_Thirty seconds._

"-when they finally landed on The Americas, Columbus thought that he was in India. After he figured out he wasn't, he claimed the land for Spain and used-"

_Ten._

"-the natives-"

_Nine._

"-as their own slaves."

_Eight._

"They captured-"

_Seven._

"-a few to-"

_Six._

"-show them-"

_Five._

I was finally able to drone out Mrs. Smith's voice by the last few seconds. I started up at the clock as it-

_-ding-_

"Don't forget to study!" Mrs. Smith tried yelling, although none of us were listening. We were all trying to get to lunch as quickly as possible, except for me. I had a different plan.

Leaving the crowd of hungry teenagers behind me, I turned down a hallway that lead straight to a certain someone's locker. "Hey, Tommo," Liam greeted once he spotted me.

"Liam, we need to talk," I urged. I didn't give him enough time to ask why before I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the nearest door I could find, which happened to be the men's loom.

"What?" Liam asked while rubbing his arm from where I gripped it a little too hard.

"Remember how Harry tutored me last night?" he nodded.

"Well I found something out," I sighed. "So when I moved here two years ago, I redownloaded this app called SingtoMe," Liam started to say something but I silenced him by holding up my pointer finger, "Well I kinda just left it on my phone till this summer. Then one day, I was cleaning through my phone and decided to look at the app to see if there was anything worth saving it for. And I found something. On the site, was this video of a person singing, and it was the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. Unfortunately, I didn't know who it was because they don't let you take videos on the app, only recordings, so I never saw there face. I only knew them as Stilltheonexx, which was their username. I added them as a friend and said 'hey', not expecting them to answer. Two months later, and I had totally fallen for the boy, even though I didn't know who he was. But we talked nonstop, twenty-four seven. We had started to grow apart since I started to like Harry, but we would still chat every once in a while," I paused to take a deep breath. "Well this past Monday, we had talked again. The conversation started to get boring, so he asked me the meaning behind my username, carrotlover28," I punched Liam to get him to stop laughing, "so when I finished explaining, I asked him what his meant. He said that You're Still the One by Shania Twain was his favorite song, but that username was already taken, so he settled with Stilltheonexx." "Last night, after Harry and I were done studying, we had somehow ended up cuddling. While we were studying, we turned the radio on. Once we were lying down, we were to comfortable to get up to turn the radio off, so we just listened to it," I didn't add the part about playing with his hair as he hummed the tune of Don't Stop Believing, because now's not the time, "Then, about two seconds into the next song, Harry told me that it was his favorite song. I asked him what it was, and he said You're Still the One. I froze a little, but he didn't notice, so when the words started playing, he sang along." I grabbed Liam's shoulders to emphasize this next statement, "And it was him. It was the voice from online. It was the same song that I heard on that recording over two months ago. It. Was. Him."

I watched Liam's eyes go from confused to shocked. He must know how much this worries me because I'm never like this. And he must know that I need his help figuring out what to do. He has to. He's my best friend.

"Wow," was all Liam could say while he thought it over. I could see his wheels spinning in his head just from how his eyes ere staring at the floor and he was scrunching his nose up. "Well Lou, I think you have to tell him."

"No duh, dipshit!" I yelled. He obviously wasn't saying anything that I didn't already know. "But what if he hates me?" I whispered, lowering my voice down as I said my worst fear out loud.

Liam cradled me in a hug as he said, "Then he will hate you. But he will eventually learn to forgive you."

"But he has the right to know," Liam added.

"I know," I sulked, nodding my head into his shoulder.

"But that doesn't mean you have to do it right away." My head shot up at his words, confused. "You have to tell him, but you don't have to tell him right away. You should wait for the right moment," he explained.

"Yeah," I said to myself, "Yeah, that's true!"

"Thanks, Payno," I sang as I slapped him on the back. "Don't mention it," he chuckled as we walked out of the bathroom. Both of us happy that we figured it out.

...If only I had known who else was in there.


	16. Harry

"We need to talk," he said, slamming the bathroom door behind him.

"About what?" I mumbled, even though we both already knew the answer to that.

"Harry," he sighed, turning to look me in the eyes. Peering into his, I slowly watched the anger that was in them a few moments ago disappear. It went silent after that, neither of us knowing what to say. _But what could you?_ I mean, I guess I could ask why. Or I could apologize, even though I didn't do anything wrong. He was definitely the type of person that would make you apologize for things he did. But is he still?

"I'm sorry," I stuttered, looking down at the ground.

"God, Harry, what in the world do you have to be sorry about? I'm the one who kissed you," Zayn spoke, running his hand through his messy hair although it was normally perfect.

"Well yeah," I started, "But I'm the one who ran away."

"You ran away because I kissed you," he countered. Zayn had a point there, I did run away because he kissed me, but he doesn't know that I mainly ran away because of the panic attack. "The look on your face after you pushed me away told me that I screwed up big time. And I did. Harry, I'm so so-"

"Zayn, the reason I ran away wasn't that you kissed me," I confessed. "Well, I mean it kinda was." The look on Zayn's face told me to continue explaining. "After you kissed me, I had a panic attack," I saw his eyes shoot open, "And I ran away because I needed fresh air."

"Oh my god, that makes things ten times worse," Zayn acknowledged. "Harry, I'm so sorry. Please let me explain everything," he begged with nothing but guilt in his eyes. So, giving in, I nodded.

And that's how I missed all of study hall to hear his story. How he bullied me because he was jealous of how close Niall and I were. Jealous that he and Liam weren't like that. He thought that we were dating because we were so close! He said, to be exact, 'I couldn't find a reason that someone as popular as Niall would be friends with someone as quiet as you, no offense. So I thought that you two were dating.' He also said that as he was telling me that, he realized how bad (there was a different word used) of an excuse it was to bully someone.

Zayn then explained how he had grown a liking for Liam, as more than just friends. So, he thought that he could get that with me since Niall and I were 'dating', and he could get Liam out of his head. He also told me that those were his 'drunken thoughts'. Finally, he ended it with about one hundred sorry's. By the end of his apology, I had learned that Zayn was very dumb and that he liked Liam.

"So, do you know what you are?" I asked when he finished speaking.

"What?" Zayn questioned, looking as confused as a dog choosing between treats and meat.

"Do you know if you are bisexual or gay?" I said, making my question more specific, before adding, "you don't have to tell me if it's too personal. I'm just trying to help."

"No, no, it's okay. For some reason, I trust you with this," Zayn responded, making me laugh in my head. If I wasn't a good person then I would have told the whole entire school.

"Okay."

"But no, I don't know what I am yet. All I know is that I like Liam as more than just friends," he explained, fear growing in his eyes.

Thinking that I may regret this in the future, I reached a hand out and placed it on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. Liam's a nice person and he's accepting of Louis, so he'd definitely accept you," I assured.

"But Louis doesn't like him," Zayn stressed. That's true though, Louis doesn't like him, Louis likes me (according to Liam). Would Liam react differently if he knew that Zayn liked him?

"That's true," was all I could think to say. After my lame response, it went back to silence for a few moments, before something popped into my head. "I think you should tell him," I stated. In response to my statement, I got a wide-eyed Zayn grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. I flinched a little and when he realized that I did, he pulled his hands down.

"Sorry," Zayn whispered.

"But are you crazy??! Liam would flip if he found out!" Zayn exclaimed.

"I don't mean right now," _because he would definitely flip,_ I thought but didn't add, "but eventually. Scope the situation out and if you think he may like you back, tell him."

"If he doesn't," I paused, "then don't tell him. But first, you have to get closer to him. As you explained, you are not as close as you want to be, so I wouldn't make your decision until you are at the level you want to be."

"Okay," Zayn mumbled, taking a mental note of my advice.

"Anyway," Zayn spoke up again, "Harry, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I did that to you and I can't believe I made your life a living hell. I will never do it again and if someone else does, tell me and I'll beat their ass."

"Can you forgive me?" Zayn said, asking the daunting question. _Could I forgive him? Forgive him for everything he's put me through? Everything he's done to Niall?_

"Maybe," I spoke, causing him to look up at me. "Not right now, but eventually," I explained, earning a sad head nod.

"But I'll work on it," I added.

"Thank you so much Harry!" he shrieked, jumping around in a circle. At the sound of my laughter, he stopped and mumbled a little 'sorry'.

"If you ever need anything, just let me know," Zayn spoke the words that a lot of people were saying these days as he walked towards the door. Once the door was pushed open, he started to walk through it but froze. "Oh, and Harry," Zayn smirked.

"Yes?"

"Goodluck with Louis," he winked before walking through the door completely.

"How did he-" I cut myself off with a shake of the head because the answer is pretty obvious. He is friend's with Louis, so of course, he knew.

"You good?" someone asked, waving their hand in front of my face.

"What? Oh yeah," I replied, quickly walking through the door.

\----

After wandering the halls for a few minutes, I finally saw a certain Irish lad and my favorite sass master from Doncaster standing next to Louis' locker, looking to be in a very serious discussion. Walking closer I could hear a part of their conversation.

"But, Niall I-"

"Hey," I spoke, cutting Louis off in the middle of his sentence.

"Oh, um hey Harry," Niall answered, fidgeting with the strap of his backpack.

"Watcha talking about?" I asked, desperate to know why it was so serious.

"Oh um, the homecoming game on September twenty-eighth," Louis quickly responded.

"Oh, okay," I shrugged, "You ready?"

"Yeah, of course," Louis said. And before we left, I swear I could've seen Niall give Louis a dirty look, but I brushed it off because it was probably just my brain making things up.

But maybe I shouldn't have.


End file.
